Why Crypto Token Launches Are Broken and How to Fix Them | Shane Molidor
In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Shane Molidor, founder and CEO of Forgd, about why token launches keep failing and what it would actually take to fix them. Shane, who previously led trading desks at Gemini, AscendEX, and FBG Capital before founding Forgd, explains why the structural gaps that bull markets used to hide are now fully exposed, and why founders, VCs, and public sale participants are all down bad as a result.
He breaks down how IPOs are engineered with book building and underwriters while crypto launches rely on hope, retail speculation, and market makers that overpromise and underdeliver.He walks through how Forgd's free-to-use benchmarking tool tracks over 600 market maker engagements across 35+ desks, why data-driven RFQs are replacing voice brokerage, and how the exchange listing decision between Binance and OKEx can meaningfully change the shape of a token's chart. The conversation covers why institutional demand for new launches is near zero, why active market making is a glorified pump and dump, and what a fundamental shift to fundraising and book building would actually look like.
TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (01:06) State of token launches four months after crypto’s all-time highs (02:03) Structural gaps bull markets hide: who is getting hurt and how (05:23) Why IPOs are engineered and crypto launches are improvised (06:56) Should crypto adopt IPO-style book building and will it happen (08:41) Is now a good time to launch a token? The double-edged sword argument (10:27) Tools Forgd is seeing increased demand for right now (12:30) How Forgd’s benchmarking tool works: 600 engagements, 35+ market makers (15:43) How reputation plays into market maker selection and what changes it (17:46) Why data-driven RFQs are replacing legacy voice brokerage (21:39) Why Shane built Forgd after running a trading desk and seeing the gap firsthand (26:51) Top performing market makers on the leaderboard right now (29:35) How founders say the historical data has changed their decision making (30:43) Forgd’s 2026 roadmap: exchange listing tools, tokenomics simulations, and AI (33:40) Exchange listing strategy: what the data says about Binance vs OKEx vs Coinbase (39:30) How institutional demand for new launches has collapsed and what teams are doing instead (42:22) What the actual solution looks like: rethinking fundraising and book building (44:57) Final advice: use data, not gut instinct, when selecting market makersEpisodes air every Tuesday and Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, X and more.
For more updates, subscribe to the Talking Tokens newsletter here: https://talkingtokens.beehiiv.com/ And follow us on X: Jacquelyn: https://twitter.com/jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: https://twitter.com/_TalkingTokens Token Relations: https://twitter.com/Token_Relations This podcast is built by Token Relations. Please note that this podcast is for informational purposes only and any views shared by anyone on the show are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have a direct or indirect financial interest in content mentioned in this episode.
Why Crypto Token Launches Are Broken and How to Fix Them | Shane Molidor
Subscribe & Listen
Most RWAs Are Built Wrong | Ayyan Rahman
Inside PayPal’s Bet on Stablecoins | May Zabaneh
More from Talking Tokens
This Firm Has 473 Million XRP And An Argument to Why Idle Capital Should Not Exist | Asheesh Birla, Evernorth
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Asheesh Birla, CEO of Evernorth, the Ripple-backed digital asset treasury firm holding roughly 473 million XRP tokens, to talk about why he thinks we've finally hit the inflection point that blockchain has been building toward for over a decade. Asheesh breaks down why most digital assets sit idle the same way cash sits in a bank account, how Evernorth is building a real-time agentic risk engine to change that, and why he believes the winners in this space will be the ones who develop the three pillars of tech, commercialization and liquidity. TIMESTAMPS: 02:00 - The best use case for blockchains 04:16 - The pace of blockchain adoption vs expectations 08:15 - How Evernorth is creating liquidity for XRP and digital assets 10:00 - Industry misconceptions: tech vs adoption focus 11:33 - The Evernorth report findings for RLUSD and XRP 14:11 - The significance of stablecoins for institutional markets 21:01 - The importance of asset optimization and real-time capital management 25:28 - How stablecoins strengthen crypto ecosystems rather than compete 30:33 - Idle capital as an overlooked signal and how to put assets to work 33:00 - Building trust and institutional confidence in blockchain 37:46 - The maturation of DeFi vaults and institutional-grade protocols 40:11 - Preparing Evernorth for listing and success metrics 46:42 - Long-term vision and advice for blockchain enthusiasts You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _talkingtokens Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.
Why Aave V4 Is Built Like a Central Bank for DeFi | Stani Kulechov
On today's Talking Tokens, we're sharing Jacquelyn’s Proof of Talk chat with Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave Labs, to break down why Aave V4 moved away from a single monolithic protocol toward a hub and spoke model that works more like a central bank. Stani gets into why a lot of centralized lenders didn't hold up through both the FTX collapse and last October's market unwind. Then Stani explains why he thinks the next real growth phase for DeFi comes from financing things like AI infrastructure, tokenized equity, and credit for businesses that have never had access to capital this efficient before. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction to Aave and Stani Kulechov 03:09 Evolution from Aave V3 to Aave V4 06:03 Risk Management in DeFi 08:45 Building Network Resilience 11:58 Aave V4 and Corporate Treasury Management 14:48 Tokenized Assets and Aave Horizon 18:11 Institutional Interest in Tokenization 20:52 Mainstream Adoption of DeFi 24:02 Future Vision for Aave You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _talkingtokens Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.
Why MoneyGram Built Its Own Stablecoin Instead of Using Someone Else's | Anthony Soohoo, MoneyGram
On today's Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo to talk about MGUSD, the company's new dollar-backed stablecoin built on Stellar with help from Bridge, Fireblocks, and M0. Anthony explores why launching MoneyGram decided to have its own stablecoin and breaks down how its 60 million active customers and nearly 500,000 retail locations across 200 countries play a role in it. Jacquelyn and Anthony also discuss why the real winners in this space might be the ones who make stablecoins disappear into the background entirely and how the asset can have a dual role in finance. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction to MGUSD and MoneyGram's Vision 03:04 The Complexity of Cross-Border Payments 06:31 Leveraging Existing Infrastructure for Adoption 10:15 The Role of Cash in a Digital Future 12:35 Stablecoins as a Preferred Payment Method 14:09 Self-Custody and User Education 18:22 The Future of Stablecoins and Consumer Adoption 21:33 Navigating Regional Differences in Adoption 24:07 Stablecoins vs. Traditional Banking 25:52 Choosing the Right Partners for MGUSD 28:40 The Dual Role of Stablecoins in Finance 31:21 Lessons from the Crypto Industry 34:51 Advice for Success in the Financial Space You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple or YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review — it really helps. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTokens Follow us on X Jacquelyn: / jacqmelinek Talking Tokens: / _talkingtokens Follow us on Instagram / _talkingtokens Note: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Views shared are opinions, not financial advice. The host or guests may have financial interests in discussed content.